tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22532907864353199692019-05-25T07:58:48.385-04:00Dorm Room DinnerWill Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-88554358751439480412013-01-26T10:13:00.002-05:002013-01-26T10:13:53.936-05:00Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com1040tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-56130567323102417392013-01-24T11:28:00.001-05:002013-01-24T11:28:40.576-05:00Graduating
Everything moves on, everything ends, everything commences again.
Fine -- I'll try not to get all teary-eyed and emotional as I write this, I'll try not to sound like a graduation speaker, but it's not easy. Dorm Room Dinner has been at the center of my life for nearly three years now.
And now it's time to graduate.
Take it as a good thing -- it's just time to move on. We can't all bundleWill Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com908tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-18221518460189930902013-01-01T15:26:00.001-05:002013-01-01T15:30:43.857-05:0012 Food Highlights from 2012!
It's that time of year, when everyone makes lists from 2012. I ate some Oscar Dogs, helped bring together some great minds in food at FOODSTOCK and the LongHouse Food Revival, ate yet another best-meal-ever at Arthur Bryant's BBQ, drove from Boston to Austin fork in hand, and traversed the streets of New York searching out the tastiest bites.
Here are my top 12 favorite food moments, in no Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com334tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-24431493636869825622012-12-23T14:36:00.000-05:002012-12-23T14:36:44.246-05:00The Eat Generation: Get It While It's Hot
Alex and I were sitting at the long, white-topped bar of Little Serow in Washington, D.C. and the fried tofu was so damn spicy we were no longer able to carry on our conversation.
"This is nam tuk tow hu," said our server, a young woman with thick rimmed glasses and a darling white summer dress splotched with red and blue, "it means 'running waterfall,' because it is so spicy, you will sweatWill Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com131tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-88937865826762988902012-12-14T15:57:00.001-05:002012-12-14T15:57:55.073-05:00New Articles for The Brooklyn Paper
It has been a little quiet around here, but fear not! I've been busy scribbling in my reporter's notebook all over Brooklyn for some new material.
Here are 3 recent article I wrote for The Brooklyn Paper. Read 'em up!
Bunna Cafe Pops Up at Brooklyn Night Bazaar
When life gives you Ethiopian lemons, make lemonade! Sam Saverance moved to Africa with a background in design and developmentWill Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com149tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-82776159278155109582012-12-09T17:38:00.002-05:002012-12-09T17:39:07.264-05:00A Supermarket in California
A gas station in Louisiana, 2011.
On this rainy December evening in New York City, I thought I'd leave you with one of my favorite poems - food themed or otherwise - by Allen Ginsberg.
Enjoy, you quick-tongued cooks and pancake-flipping poets.
A Supermarket in California
by Allen Ginsberg
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt Whitman, for
I walked down the sidestreets under Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com109tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-20831701660786964822012-12-04T13:42:00.000-05:002012-12-04T13:42:18.049-05:00Grain Mains: Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Beets, Leeks, Orange and Yogurt Dressing
Last night, after meeting my cousin in the West Village for dinner, I came away with the thought that the best thing I'd had that night was toast topped with potatoes, melted cheese and prosciutto. Talk about a balanced diet.
Fine, I'll admit it. This season has been a season of indulgences -- food wise at least. I've been giving into fat. I've been cooking with butter. I've been eating a lot Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com260tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-34478688570894800452012-11-19T11:36:00.004-05:002012-11-19T11:36:57.390-05:00Roasted Stuffed Pumpkin
"You know," said the worker at the grocery store, eyeing the pumpkin in my cart, "you should really stuff and roast that pumpkin."
"In fact," I replied, "that's exactly what I'm doing!"
He was wearing a brightly colored, striped sweater beneath his grocery store uniform, and the high-pitched lilt in his voice came from someone who had clearly spent more than one shower belting out Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com224tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-51834839186968817452012-11-11T12:54:00.000-05:002012-11-11T12:54:31.168-05:00This Tastes Like Home
I was sitting at the heavy antique dining room table at my great aunt Carol's farmhouse in Western Massachusetts. She runs an apple orchard and cider press on her farm, and stepping past the stone walls from the street towards the farm is like stepping into another era. As you turn away from your car, you arrive into an older, quieter, stunningly beautiful New England. A time and place where Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com80tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-30033506108401812762012-10-29T17:18:00.000-04:002012-10-29T17:18:23.356-04:00The Kitchen and the Good Life, Revisited
Sandy is picking up to a steady pace now. The maples outside my bedroom window (I'm in Boston for a few days) are being plucked clean of their foliage and the winds are setting the fallen leaves into great swirls and bursts of color. At the very least, it's something colorful against an otherwise grey and intensely rainy day. And at least the electricity is still on -- "hunkering down" duringWill Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-70465904840254707882012-10-24T19:41:00.003-04:002012-10-24T19:54:42.019-04:00National Food Day: Chili Caramel Popcorn!
Well, it's that special time of year again: NATIONAL FOOD DAY!
In celebration of this holiday, we make Chili Caramel Popcorn. It's real yum. And real fun. Watch on!
Convinced that this chili caramel popcorn is the most scrumptious, sticky, spicy, sweet, snack ever? Well then go ahead and make some for yourself already!
Chili Caramel Popcorn
makes 4 cups
-1 cup sugar
-3 tablespoons Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com67tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-21255663297322485092012-10-22T20:22:00.000-04:002013-01-01T15:12:48.494-05:00The Great American Road Trip, Part 3: The Road and Lake Erie, Ohio
This summer after graduating college, I took a road trip from New York City to Austin, and back again. It was the Great American Road Trip. That is, I think that all American road trips have an element of greatness to them, and this trip was no exception. Read up on the New York City, the Shanghai Mermaids and a very hungry Will Levitt in Part 1, then check out Pennsylvania pastries and Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-12439332908179770962012-10-08T21:48:00.001-04:002012-10-08T21:54:11.510-04:00LongHouse Food Writers Revival: A Look Back
For a look back at the LongHouse Food Writers Revival, the event I co-produced with Cook N Scribble last month, check out my article and slideshow on the Huffington Post.
"On September 15, 2012 many of the nation's leading thinkers in food media gathered in a restored barn in Rensselaerville, New York to explore the idea of "Old Media, New Media and the False Divide" and discuss the Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-35376766096483183982012-10-02T10:07:00.002-04:002012-10-02T10:08:39.327-04:00Warm Barley Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts and Chard
For me, it is autumn, not spring, which speaks to new beginnings.
We often speak of foods that take us into our past -- the roast chicken on our grandmother's table, the first time we tasted a just-picked tomato, the feel of cookie dough in our second-grade hands. We reminisce about the way a certain dish recalls a certain place and time. The lobster bake which invokes sand in your toes Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-58556760251586468222012-09-29T16:02:00.004-04:002012-09-29T16:09:26.079-04:00The Great American Road Trip, Part 2: Somewhere, PA
This summer after graduating college, I took a road trip from New York City to Austin, and back again. It was the Great American Road Trip. That is, I think that all American road trips have an element of greatness to them, and this trip was no exception. Read up on the New York City, the Shanghai Mermaids and a very hungry Will Levitt in Part 1.
Part 2: Morning, June 11
Somewhere, Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-66433624430666018802012-09-20T23:37:00.001-04:002012-09-29T15:47:39.214-04:00The Great American Road Trip, Part 1: New York City
This summer after graduating college, I took a road trip from New York City to Austin, and back again. It was the Great American Road Trip. That is, I think that all American road trips have an element of greatness to them, and this trip was no exception.
Part 1: June 8-10
NEW YORK CITY - To arrive into Grand Central Station and ascend from its depths into the New York City air is Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-48269389949926588862012-09-09T17:41:00.002-04:002012-09-09T21:55:33.854-04:00LongHouse Food Writers Revival and Molly O'Neill's Rose Water Pie with Summer Berries
The LongHouse Barn and a trial-run of the pig roast.
Two nights ago I was up until 1:00 a.m. planning a Pop-UP Food Magazine. The day before I spent the bulk of my afternoon procuring a 1912 copper-sided washing machine to be converted into a vertical spit roast for a Mexican pig roast on September 15. The day before that I visited an artist named Earl whose office is in a fried chicken Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com112tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-63477118544853197932012-08-21T15:28:00.002-04:002012-08-21T15:59:28.570-04:00Chilled Corn Soup and a BLT in Kansas City
There are 1,463 miles between Kansas City, where both my parents grew up and most of my extended family lives, and Boston, where I grew up -- but both places feel like home. I've flown to KC - as it is referred to in my family - more times than I can count, and once this past summer made the trip by car (more on that road trip soon). I know well what separates the two - not only the space Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com136tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-55891735331507466942012-08-09T12:16:00.000-04:002012-10-18T22:53:30.342-04:00The 2012 Wine Olympic Games: We Try Every Variety of Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck
It wouldn't be an Olympic season without a little fun from your friends at Dorm Room Dinner, right?
Well I teamed up with my friend Molly in an Olympic challenge sure to be the highlight of this year's games. You'll be cheering, crying and shouting "U-S-A! U-S-A!" the whole way through. Probably.
We try our way through all the varieties of Trader Joe's Two Buck Chuck discount wine. There's a Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-72989613802637195302012-07-26T11:53:00.001-04:002012-07-26T11:53:21.135-04:00Chick-fil-A and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Gay
~A Limerick~
Chick-fil-A
After a good, long pray
Declared: "We really do not like the gay!
We dislike boys who shout oh heyyyy!
And men who dance in the ballet.
Lesbians? So not ok!"
But now we know, they'll rue the day
For this mistake they'll surely pay
In time the chain, it will decay
For homos now will stay away.
But hey, we'd do that anyway.
Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-10660258496831866562012-07-19T11:38:00.000-04:002012-07-19T11:40:28.270-04:00Fried Avocado Sandwich
Yep. You read that right. I took some avocados. I fried 'em. I put 'em in a sandwich.
It was the best day ever.
To help explain, I've created a little dialogue between you and me. To accompany reading this dialogue, or to listen to while you prepare this sandwich, you may want to listen to Yoü And I by Lady Gaga. Despite what my friends say, I think it's a badass song. Just like this Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-84074148618714407612012-07-16T10:44:00.000-04:002012-07-16T10:44:16.637-04:00It's Not Revolutionary, It's Just Cooking
I love Jamie Oliver. In addition to the fact that he's pretty adorable, I greatly respect him professionally. He's an excellent cook himself and he's inspired many other people to cook. He's helped disadvantaged youth in his native England learn to be restaurant chefs (documented in his TV series Jamie's Kitchen) and he's written a number of easy to use, beautifully constructed cookbooks. He Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-21049943175351401162012-07-11T16:13:00.000-04:002012-07-20T17:05:46.292-04:00Green God Gazpacho
Throwing raw ingredients in a blender. That's all it takes to put together this green gazpacho of the gods, which cools and soothes away the hot and humid days of mid summer like a quick dip in the pool. It's so wonderfully refreshing, so fabulously fresh and so godlessly (godfully?) green that you just might start throwing fresh veggies in the blender with reckless abandon all summer long, Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-58024130862925270902012-07-06T18:24:00.001-04:002012-07-06T18:26:07.762-04:00Housekeeping...
Food trailer in Austin. No relation to post. But cool nonetheless.
Hello!
Hello!
Hope everyone's summer is going swimmingly (literally or figuratively). Thought I'd take care of some housekeeping around here at Dorm Room Dinner and give you a few updates on other food projects I've been working on. It's one crazy food world out there!
xo
Will
1. Huffington Post. I've started writing for Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2253290786435319969.post-90299513551996956112012-07-01T21:03:00.000-04:002012-07-01T21:09:54.026-04:00BREAKING: Supreme Court Backs Mandatory Broccoli Act
WASHINGTON - In a close 5-4 vote, the United States Supreme Court has backed President Obama's Mandatory Broccoli Act. In an unprecedented act of bipartisanship, the swing vote was cast by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was appointed by President Bush as a "card-carrying carnivore." Few thought Roberts would be the one to show his "green, stalky side" in this case. But he sided with the Will Levitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00552233225119945511noreply@blogger.com8